


Twilight's Edge

by inkcharm



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Accidents, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anger, Bending (Avatar), Blood, Consequences, Disability, Gen, Katara makes a massive mistake, Redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-07 15:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4267869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkcharm/pseuds/inkcharm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An innocent training session leads to grave misunderstandings with dire consequences for Zuko.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Post The Boiling Rock. I started writing this years ago after TBR originally aired and before anything else aired. Therefore, it heavily diverts from canon. 
> 
> Katara is likely somewhat OOC, especially at the beginning, as I've taken her tendency to be high strung and angry and twisted it into this what if scenario. It'll get better eventually though, don't worry.

Sleep still hung heavy over the land as the sun began crawling towards the horizon. She peeked over hills and forests and slowly made her way further up, stretching and yawning all the way. Her glow was warm and soft, but she knew it would eventually become stronger as she kept going. This close to the nation that worshipped her as the source of their bending her strength and warmth always reached a peak. Letting her gaze travel the world, fondness seeped into her when she spotted a certain Air Temple, the western one to be precise.

 

There, she knew, resided a boy holding the power to protect the very land she enjoyed warming each and every day. He was called the Avatar and she had found him a delightful incarnation, filled with joy and laughter despite all the sorrow he had encountered. She liked watching him and his adventures, and more than anything she wished she could talk to the Moon, her sister in spirit, to share the tales of his travels.

 

However, the Avatar was not the only boy her gaze sought in those ancient ruins. She knew his former title among the mortals, but to her he was the Phoenix, rising from his own ashes more beautiful and awe-inspiring than ever before, and she would call him nothing else. Him she often watched with concern and worry, although now that he was in the Avatar’s presence, she felt sure that his path was finally taking the turn it had been supposed to. She approved of the fragile bond they had started to form and would enjoy watching both of them grow and bloom.

 

Sighing, the sun turned her watchful eyes away, into herself, and let Agni fill her with strength so that she might give her warmth and light to the world.

 

On the edge of a stone platform within the Western Air Temple stood a boy named Zuko. Previously he had been known as Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, now he was a traitor dressed in prison rags with unruly black hair. At this point in time he had already become the Avatar’s firebending teacher and a barely tolerated member of said child’s group of friends. He liked to imagine that he was slowly but surely earning himself a place in their midst, but who was he to suppose he even deserved as much?

 

Golden sunlight caressed his skin, which was less pale and more ashen ever since he had gotten out of the prison cooler on the Boiling Rock. That torture was something he had yet to recover from. Right now his breathing was slow and relaxed as though he was merely sleeping, and an expression of utter peace had stolen itself onto his scarred features. Standing like this he could just imagine life was perfectly fine. He could pretend to be among friends, to be valued for who he was and what he could do, to enjoy life.

 

However, reality had a way of sneaking up on him, tackling him to the ground and beating him to a bloody pulp.

 

Zuko felt rather than heard someone approaching. Who could it be? Who would be trying to make his life more miserable today?

 

Aang? Not likely. He was not usually up that early and he was smart enough not to bug Zuko with his weird games and pranks most of the time, although he made sure to invite the older boy in as much as he could without receiving harsher firebending lessons.

 

Toph? She kept punching him, hitting him with stones, insulting him, calling him names, pushing him until he snapped. Then she would just laugh at him, as though it was all an enjoyable pastime she could only share with him.

 

Sokka? The Water Tribe boy had warmed up to him quite a bit after they had been to the Boiling Rock. Zuko was glad to receive a little gratitude for joining the boy on that dangerous quest, gaining nothing from it but helping to free people dear to the other boy and ending up in a damn cooler, fighting his sister and risking his health, life and sanity for strangers. Still, Sokka just enjoyed teasing Zuko a bit too much for the firebender’s taste.

 

Teo, Haru, the Duke? Not very likely. The wheelchair would make more than enough noise to be easily recognizable. Besides, the former two usually did everything they could to stay out of Zuko’s way, each fighting not to jump at him for what the Fire Nation had done. And the Duke? Whenever Zuko was around, he would freeze up, stare at the former prince with huge eyes and not move or make any kind of sound.

 

Katara? Zuko growled, thinking about her. The nerve of that girl! Even now that he had rescued her father she kept mistreating him. So what if he did deserve punishment for his past actions – it was no reason to glare at him all the time or to watch his every damn move, or to insist on never leaving him alone with Aang. But he swallowed it, he took every push and pull with as little complaint as he could manage, even doing all the horrible chores she could think of as suitable for his hands – well, there might have been a little more complaining THERE. No, he opted to hang his head in shame and seethe quietly in the few hours at night and before dawn he had to himself.

 

Suki? Not much contact there, yet, but he did after all burn her village, as she had pointed out so recently. He did not have much hopes of ever developing a lasting friendship with her.

 

Sighing, Zuko turned around, waiting to see whom of the children it could be. He was surprised to meet Hakoda’s eyes, a slight frown on the man's brow and his lips set in a tight line. Great. What had he done to piss off the one person with whom he had no personal history as of yet?

 

They were both silent as they watched each other. The sun climbed higher, and soon the rest of the group would start waking up. Finally, Hakoda stepped closer and nodded.

 

“You rise early.”

 

“I do.”

 

Silence again.

 

“You’re tense.”

 

And suddenly there was a fist flying towards Zuko’s face. Even through his initial shock, he instinctively deflected the blow and knocked the second punch aimed at his stomach aside with his knee.

 

“Thought so.”

 

It was then that he saw the smirk on Hakoda’s face.

 

* * *

 

 

“Has anyone seen Dad?”

 

Katara carefully flipped the bread over. She was heating it in a small pan because she had found her companions to like their breakfast warm. Her blue eyes were not fixed on the task at hand, though. Absentmindedly she broke an egg into the second pan and ignored Aang’s delight at being able to tend to the flame beneath.

 

Sokka glanced up and looked around, as Katara had done a hundred times already. Then he shrugged his shoulders. “Probably exploring the temple.”

 

Hakoda was not Haru, Teo and the Duke, though, from whom they were used that sort of behaviour, and Katara was worried. She had only gotten her father back two days ago and the fear of it all being too good to be true was gripping her heart. Too often the happiness coming with her family finally reuniting again had been shattered all too soon.

 

It was all the Fire Nation’s fault.

 

Zuko was missing as well.

 

As bitter suspicion hit her, Katara gasped and jumped up, drawing all eyes towards her. Aang even forgot the flame and let it die. “Toph, could you look for my Dad?”

 

The blind girl had a bored expression on her face, grumbled a bit, but stood up anyway. She brushed some bangs out of her eyes only to have them fall back at once, then stomped her foot. The vibrations rolled through the earth enabling her to detect Hakoda. She had become familiar enough with him to know his vibes.

 

“He’s over at the training platform.”

 

Katara nodded slowly, the frown never leaving her face. Her voice was just a little too innocent. “And where would Zuko be?”

 

Toph turned her head towards Katara. She felt were this was heading, yet she could do nothing to prevent the outburst already boiling inside the waterbender’s heart. When would the Sugar Queen learn? “With him”

 

“I KNEW IT!”

 

And with that, Katara took off towards the training grounds, leaving everyone but Toph stunned and confused. The earthbender waited for a few seconds and when no one moved she felt she had to explain that “Katara’s going to kill him, you know? Again.”

 

The others froze, then there were some mumbles of “yeah, right” and “she sure will”. The constant bickering between Zuko and Katara left them largely bored instead of worried. Aang, Sokka and Suki were the only ones to share a quick glance before following Katara.

 

Silence settled again. The Duke glanced around.

 

“So, who’s making breakfast now?”

 

* * *

 

  

She ran as though her life depended on it. But it was not her own life hanging in the balance, it was her father’s. Somehow that seemed even more important. She had told him she would end his destiny if he stepped out of line. Visions of her father stumbling back from hissing flames tormented Katara and she pushed herself to run faster. There was nothing holding her back now. If there was anything going on, anything at all that put her father in danger...

 

Fury gripped her heart and with a few more stumbling steps she made it to the training grounds and froze.

 

They were fighting.

 

Chests bare and heaving from exertion they continued to let their fists and feet fly at each other, not noticing her. It was brutal. The sound of skin hitting skin, panting, frustrated grunts and the occasional hiss when a sore spot was hit a second time filled the platform.

 

“STOP!” she yelled and before she could think twice about it her anger unleashed itself. Traitorous prince, foolish friends - they had all endangered her father by trusting him. Why her father? Why could he not have turned on her, for her waterbending was more of a match to his fire than her father could ever hope to be, great warrior or not.

 

Both of them froze in midstrike and looked at her, dumbfounded.

 

“Katara?” was all Hakoda could whisper, seeing his daughter, his beloved child, the spitting image of his late wafe, though her face was twisted with fury, a water whip curling around her. What was going on?

 

Not having been around for much of Katara's history with Zuko, Hakoda did not think to step between the children, and Zuko himself, his concentration having been on the man from the Water Tribe alone for a while now in a place where he was supposed to be safe, was not fast enough.

 

Katara’s water whip had gained a few additions since they had last fought, Zuko noticed in that bizarre moment when time seems to stand still and you can process everything with startling quality before reality blurs and leaves you bleeding. Tiny frozen shards ripped into his face, searing pain exploded, he heard someone scream – himself? – then there was darkness, warm and wet, as he hid is face in his hands and sunk to his knees.

 

Hakoda stepped forward now and grabbed Katara’s shoulders gently, though his face was disapproving. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked sternly and she could only blink. This was not what she had expected.

 

“He… he ATTACKED you!” Her shaking finger was pointing at the prince. Why wasn’t he getting up, wasn't yelling, wasn't proving that she had not really hit him that hard? There was probably a light stinging where the whip had made contact, but there was no need to act all wounded. She hadn't been that out of control, had only meant to scare him away from her father.

 

Or had she?

 

Hakoda just shook his head. “Do you know where we are?”

 

Katara blinked. “The… training grounds.”

 

“And why else would we be here if not to train? Both of us needed to work out some and I figured I could show the youngster over there some good old tricks.” Hakoda smiled. “He’s good. For a prince, that is.”

 

“I… I thought…” Katara swallowed. Oh, he would never let her forget that. Still, her attacking him had been justified, right? After all, he knew she was expecting him to step out of line, he knew she kept watching for signs of that. So, basically, it was his fault to begin with. Wasn't it? Katara opted to glare at her father – lovingly, if one could glare lovingly. “I was just afraid he might be attacking you. He still is Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, after all.”

 

A small sigh escaped Hakoda. He could see where his daughter was coming from, but right now he had trouble finding the right words to soothe her irrational anger. Yes, it had been innocent sparring, but he could also understand how it must have looked like a full blown fight from her point of view. Oh, his daughter, his sweet child, who was scarred so much that she saw evil much too easily.

 

Finally Aang, Sokka und Suki arrived, nearly crashing into Katara from behind in their attempt to prevent – what?

 

Heavily breathing – with the exception of Sokka’s girl, of course, which made Hakoda oddly proud – they rushed into a string of words.

 

“Katara, you need to…”

 

“I’m sure it’s not…”

 

“Try not to kill him, when you smack him.”

 

“… what it looks like.”

 

“… step back.”

 

He held up a hand, mesmerized at how fast the words died down and four pairs of large eyes were turned to him in expectation of guidance and wise words and whatever else children expected from adults.

 

“Everything is fine. Nothing happened. We were sparring. Nobody got hurt.”

 

Suki raised an eyebrow and pointed behind Hakoda and Katara at Zuko, who was still clutching his face with shaking hands. “If nobody got hurt, then why is Zuko bleeding?”

 

Hakoda whirled around.

 

Blood was running through Zuko’s pale fingers, drenching the earth beneath him dark red. Before he could even spare a thought as to what might have happened, Hakoda was kneeling in front of the boy, whispering soothingly, prying his shaking hands away from his face to get a look at the damage that had been done.

 

For a surreal moment Hakoda found himself wondering in morbid fascination whether Katara’s water whip had managed to slice the skin from Zuko’s features, because all he could see was the wet redness of blood covering the outlines of what might have been a face.

 

 

 


	2. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The extent of Zuko's wounds is uncovered. With Katara fleeing the scene in panicked confusion, it's left to Hakoda and Suki to try and tend to the exiled prince.

For a moment that was both too short and endlessly long, Hakoda was frozen. His hands still held Zuko’s shaking ones and his eyes could only see the blood running freely over the boy’s scarred face. But being the seasoned warrior he was, Hakoda got over the initial surprise quickly and took a firm hold of Zuko’s chin.

 

“Listen to me, and only to me. You will stay calm and it will be alright.”

 

He was relieved to see Zuko nodding. The boy made an effort to stop his hands from shaking and keep a straight face, though his eyes were closed and his lips were set in a tight line from the pain. At heart, though, he was a warrior, and as such he knew that panicking now or giving in to his pain would only make matters that much worse.

 

“Katara I need…”

 

Hakoda turned around, expecting to find his daughter there at hand with her healing skills. However, Katara was gone and the three remaining children looked as confused as he felt. He could not dwell on this new mystery in his daughter’s behaviour, though. Tending to the wounded firebender was more important for now.

 

“Aang, go and look for Katara. Tell her I need her here.” He hesitated, then made up his mind. “Tell her no one blames her. I’m not angry, not disappointed, not whatever she fears I may be.”

 

The airbender nodded and sprinted off, worry making his feet all but fly in search of his lost friend. Hakoda was well aware of the tender feelings the Avatar harboured for his daughter and hadn’t quite decided whether this was a good thing or not. However, this was neither the time nor the place to dwell on this matter.

 

Sokka kneeled with them, but Suki was gone. “Water and clean clothes”, his son explained simply and Hakoda nodded. Suki was a smart girl, a warrior, and just like him she would know how to treat battle wounds. Just like Sokka, Hakoda realized now, because his son had grown to be a true warrior as well.

 

Gently he pushed the blood soaked bangs from Zuko’s eyes and whispered calming words. Sokka handed him a small water skin, not nearly enough to wash the whole face, but it was a start. “I’m going to start cleaning your face. It might sting”, he announced, then carefully poured some water on the boy’s forehead after he received an answering nod.

 

There was no way to tell the extent of the injury yet, for even shallow cuts on the face would bleed strongly. Hakoda hoped for both Zuko’s and Katara’s sake that there was no serious damage. He knew his daughter well; she would never forgive herself if she had seriously wounded the boy, justified as her attack had seemed to herself at the time. Was that why she had run off when Suki had pointed out Zuko’s injury?

 

By the time the Kyoshi warrior returned with more water and a clean cloth, enough blood had been washed away to see some pale skin again. Carefully Sokka and Hakoda lowered Zuko to the ground. The amber eyes were pressed tightly together and the lips were bloodless and thin, the only signs of discomfort the young firebender would show. He was a strong one, Hakoda realized, and he would pull through a lot worse. Come to think of it, he had probably done so in the past already, judging by the size of the scar stretching over the left side of his face. Zuko kept flinching slightly every time Hakoda brushed over the skin there.

 

“Take a sip”, he murmured and helped the boy to drink a few sips of water, before he set him back down and used the cloth to clean off the remaining blood. It was tiresome work for whenever he wiped the blood from one tiny cut it would well up again almost immediately. It was a good thing Suki had thought to bring bandages and Katara’s healing salve, too.

 

Suki carefully spread some of the lotion on the small cuts and quite a huge drop of it on Zuko’s nose, grinning. Hakoda smiled as the boy made an unwilling yet amused sound at the back of his throat, slightly annoyed and surprised but otherwise reacting to the teasing just as Hakoda had hoped. In the end, all children were the same like that. Distract them and their pain becomes that much more bearable to them. Zuko would be fine. Some shallow cuts on his face that would heal in no time and he probably was in shock a little from all the blood and the sudden attack. Nothing serious.

 

Everything was fine.

 

That was what Hakoda thought until he noticed that even now Zuko would not open his eyes and that there was an angry red line running horizontally over his face, crossing both eyes, the bridge of his nose and tearing part of the scar open.

 

“Open your eyes.”

 

“I don’t think I want to.”

 

Zuko’s voice was a mere whisper, making Suki und Sokka freeze. They glanced at each other and then at Hakoda. On the Boiling Rock Zuko had put himself into danger without thought and it had almost cost him dearly – for if Sokka had not reached out for him he would have missed the gondola. Not to mention the passion with which he had fought his own sister without hesitation, a fight that could have driven him off the gondola’s roof just as easily.

 

His refusal to open his eyes basically translated into the admission that he felt something was wrong there.

 

“Hey, I’m not that unpleasant a sight”, Sokka tried to joke, and to their surprise Zuko picked it up.

 

“You did manage to pass as a fire nation prison guard, didn’t you?”

 

At this Sokka narrowed his eyes and put his hands on his hips. “Are you insulting me?”

 

“Always.”

 

Suki decided to join in there. “You know, I think I might actually make Zuko my personal ally. He shows potential.”

 

“You wouldn’t dare!” Sokka exclaimed. His eyes were wide and he looked positively scandalized.

As the two lovers started bickering, Hakoda leaned over Zuko and placed a hand on his cheek. Even through the flesh, so warm he would have thought him feverish if he had not heard of the firebenders’ inner flames, he could feel the former prince clenching his teeth. He was in pain, but unwilling to show it.

 

“Open your eyes”, he whispered, too low for Suki and Sokka to hear. “I’m there. Don’t worry.”

 

He would practically see the hesitation, the raw fear pulsing through Zuko, even though there was no apparent change in his expression or breathing pattern.

 

The boy's eyes opened slowly. Before Hakoda could worry about the glimpse of dirt fragments, there was blood gushing over pale skin again and he could not even see the golden irises anymore.

 

* * *

 

 

“Where is Katara?” Hakoda barked as he rushed back into the camp.

 

He presented quite the sight. He stood tall and strong, eyes flashing dangerously, his face set in grim determination and his shirt covered in blood. In his arms he carried Zuko, who had bandages wrapped around his eyes much to everyone’s confusion. There were stains on his cheeks, making him look as though he had cried tears of blood.

 

Following behind were Suki and Sokka, both wearing equally grim expressions. That above all else told Teo, Haru and the Duke that something was up and stopped them from even considering jokes about Zuko being carried in someone else’s arms.

 

Toph, on the other hand, could feel the trouble in their heartbeats, a heavy rhythm speaking of pain and fear and worry and desperation. There was also helplessness, which worried her most. “Not here”, she answered. “She rushed off to the training grounds when she heard you and Zuko were both there.” Even being who she was, Toph was quite impressed by the variety of swear words Hakoda muttered under his breath. And then he stormed off, carrying Zuko’s frantic heartbeat away and into the temple before she even had a chance to reach out with her senses and assess the firebender's condition.

 

Toph turned her head towards Suki and Sokka, raising one eyebrow in question.

 

“It was an accident! She didn’t mean to, she would never…”

 

Suki placed a hand on Sokka’s shoulder and waited, until he settled down again. “Hakoda said it was a water whip. Katara obviously came to the training grounds and saw Hakoda and Zuko sparring. Katara thought they were fighting each other and wanted to defend her father. She attacked Zuko.”

 

“A water whip”, Sokka explained silently. “I don’t think she was aiming for his face. It was an accident.”

 

“Of course it was. Doesn’t change the fact that the ice in her whip nearly peeled his face off.”

 

Toph was shocked for a moment, but she could not even question the truth of that statement, for Sokka lunged into a reply much too fast.

 

“She did not peel his face off!”

 

“She ripped his scar open and blinded him, Sokka. She wounded the only firebender in our group, she wounded Aang’s teacher and she wounded the guy without whom none of us would have made it out of that prison alive and most of all, she wounded him without any reason at all.”

 

Silence fell now, finally. Sokka breathed heavily as he realized that this was true. Katara had overreacted and her strong dislike of Zuko had blinded her judgement so severely it resulted in a heavy injury to someone who had only tried to make things right. His shoulders slumped and Suki, who had been meeting his eyes with a strong glare of her own, shifted her foot slightly, until their bodies touched sidelong. Sokka sighed. The contact was enough to reassure him. They were both right, he realized, him in defending Katara und Suki in pointing out her mistake. Katara had done nothing on purpose, but it did not change the fact that her actions had dire consequences. They needed her to come back. They would not blame her, but they needed her to realize her mistake and help make it better.

 

“Blinded?”

 

Toph could not quite believe what she had heard. It had been more of a jumble than an explanation of the events that had transpired, but she could make out the gist of it. Except for that.

 

“There were ice shards in the water whip”, Sokka whispered. “Apparently, some of them got in his eyes.” She could feel a slight tremble inside him that stopped when Suki leaned against him a little more. From that alone Toph knew it must have been a jarring sight. “He can’t see properly. There was blood all over his eyes. Dad washed it away but could not do anything else. He just wrapped a bandage over Zuko’s eyes so that he wouldn’t make it worse by trying to see constantly. Zuko said he could make out vague shapes, but it hurt him to try to focus on them…” He shifted. “We need Katara. She could make it all better…. Where IS she?”

 

Toph was silent for a while, her thoughts whirling, her mind torn. She wanted to see Zuko. He was currently rendered just as blind as herself with the difference that his blindness was new and scared him. On the other hand, she wanted to look for Katara and drag her back by force if necessary so that she could patch the firebender up again. And then she wanted to yell, because she knew she was currently the one who had to do something, seeing as everyone else was in various states of shocks and headlessness.

 

Help Zuko. Find Katara.

 

She stomped her foot.

 

“Aang’s by some… lake. Can’t feel Katara, though.”

 

Suki scratched her head. “Could you feel her if she was in the water? Swimming, not touching the ground, you know?”

 

“Probably not since earthbenders are usually not all that good with water. You know.”

 

Suki rolled her eyes. “She's in the water then, probably. Which means Aang is with her. He will make sure she’s fine and bring her back.” Everyone looked at her – with the exception of Toph, who simply had her head turned Suki’s way. “What?”

 

Sokka grinned. “You’re in charge now, you know? Breakfast and stuff.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

“Girl.”

 

There was a thud. Toph grinned while the other boys present winced in sympathy. No one raised their voice when Suki took command and gave them chores to do. Which left Toph wondering why she felt reluctant to pay a visit to Zuko.

 

 

She sighed and settled on the ground, deciding to watch the others for now. It was not like Zuko would run off anywhere any time soon.

 

* * *

 

 

Hakoda gently wiped some remaining blood from Zuko’s scar and pretended not to notice the tears slipping from underneath the bandage and sliding down pale cheeks, leaving wet trails slightly stained with blood. The firebender was in pain and would not find rest any time soon.

 

“It will be alright”, he whispered.

 

He knew Zuko did not and could not believe him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up: 
> 
> Chapter 3 "Wounds"
> 
> Katara faces her inner turmoil and tries to to find a path forwards, unaware that she damaged Zuko's eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Is Zuko damaged beyond repair? How will this event affect the group? Stay tuned for more. 
> 
> Reviews and Kudos are always welcome. Thank you for reading!


End file.
